Wise Old Owl.
Nature Notes.
By James Drummond, F.L.S., F.Z.S.
'T'HE species of German owl condemned in New Zealand as a destroyer of native birds is plentiful in England, where it is accused of killing game-birds. Its habits were watched closely on Sir George Courthope’s estate in Sussex. It was suspected of killing many pheasants. A gamekeeper saw an owl, at one stroke, destroy seventeen young pheasants. It left them lying where they fell, but returned with some companions, and they carried the bodies away. A number of these they deposited in a damp meadow, and left them there for several days. Then busy scavenger-beetles got to work on the dead bodies. The owls returned again and devoured the beetles. The owls had deliberately laid a bait for the beetles. Many people wished to discover if this cunning device was the inspiration of a single owl genius in the Sussex colony of owls or a general habit, an established instinct. There is proof that the device is practised by the Sussex colony every year, and observers in other places corroborate the observations made in Sussex.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TS19330719.2.83
Bibliographic details
Star (Christchurch), Volume LXIV, Issue 818, 19 July 1933, Page 6
Word Count
185Wise Old Owl. Star (Christchurch), Volume LXIV, Issue 818, 19 July 1933, Page 6
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